Assembly of structures utilizing robots is becoming increasingly common. During assembly of the structure, particularly during robotic assembly of relatively large structures (e.g., aircraft wings), one or more components of the structure are often held in position by a support system. Typically, support systems of this type include hardware, such as fixtures and pins that are aligned with and coupled to the component in order to retain the component at a desired location and/or position for processing of the component and/or assembly of additional components.
Disadvantageously, in order to process the structural component at or near a coupling location (e.g., an interface between the component and the hardware), the hardware must be released and moved away from the structural component. Following the processing operation, the hardware must then be moved back and reconnected to the component. Connecting the hardware to and releasing the hardware from the component often requires human interaction. For example, the support hardware must be manually connected to and released from the component in order to access areas of the component at or near one or more coupling locations.
Human interaction increases the cost and time of the manufacturing process. Human interaction also increases the risk of bodily injury. For example, any automated systems (e.g., robotic fixtures) must be deactivated before any manual operations may be performed.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts in the field of indexing and retaining structural components during manufacture of a structure.